STALK ROT OF CORN IN RELATION TO PLANT POPULATION AND GRAIN YIELD

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Abstract
Increases in plant population of field corn resulted in increased stalk rot and barrenness, and decreased tillering and ear size. In the stalk rot susceptible single cross CH159 × CH3, stalk rot reached high levels at relatively low populations (10- and 15-thousand plants per acre) whereas resistant B14 × CH9 did not have stalk rot below populations of 20- and 25-thousand plants per acre. Stalk rot did not occur until after the plants had reached physiological maturity. Plants which developed stalk rot shortly after physiological maturity had lower grain yields than plants which developed stalk rot later in the autumn. Plants without stalk rot by the time of final harvest in late October or early November were found to have either well-developed ears with high grain weights or small, poorly pollinated ears. It was concluded that both stalk rot and reduction of grain yield are the end results of conditions which reduced plant productivity during growth.